Higher summons

It now emerges that the recall of Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav from London was ordered not by the Civil Aviation Ministry but by the Prime Ministers Office.

Higher summons

It now emerges that the recall of Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav from London was ordered not by the Civil Aviation Ministry but by the Prime Ministers Office. The Civil Aviation Ministry,in fact,had no problems with Jadhav going abroad on an official visit. It was a quirk of fate that led to Jadhav being recalled within hours of landing in London. It so happened that Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi developed some problems in his vocal chords because of which he was not in a position to answer queries related to his ministry in Parliament. It fell on the V Narayanasamy,the Minister of State in Prime Ministers Office,to stand in for his colleague. This was how the PMO came to know about Jadhavs visit. The PM himself was said to be unhappy with the CMDs absence and ordered his return.

Comic Relief

Reading from a prepared speech during a discussion on supplementary budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday,BJP member Naranbhai Kachhadia referred to the Chair as mahodaya madam despite the fact that Congress MP Satpal Maharaj and not Speaker Meira Kumar was presiding. He was corrected by his party colleague Bhola Ram but after one correct reference,Kachhadia slipped back to mahodaya again. After a few more similar references,he was reminded again by another member but Kachhadia seemed unmoved. The next time he said mahodaya,sending the entire House into peals of laughter,the Chair asked the Lok Sabha staff to amend the records suitably.

Awkward Position

Food Minister K V Thomas has been pleasantly surprised by the sudden benevolence shown by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in asking him to pilot the Pesticide Management Bill in Parliament. After all,the two have very recently been at loggerheads over foodgrains and sugar exports. But in this instance,Pawar ignored the two Ministers of State in his own ministry and gave the responsibility to Thomas. Incidentally,Thomas served as MoS under Pawar till January and had been handling the Bill from the beginning. While Thomas may be pleased,

it might also put him in an awkward position on the issue of ban on endosulfan pesticide which is sure to crop up during discussions. The issue is emotive in Kerala but the Central government has decided against banning the chemical,a decision that Thomas would be forced to publicly support in Parliament.

Foreign Rules

With the prestigious post of Director General of the premier think tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis IDSA up for grabs,the buzz is that the top contenders for the position are all from the Indian Foreign Service IFS. Word in the think tank circuit has it that the two top contenders are former Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar and current Deputy Director General of IDSA Arvind Gupta.

Tailpiece

Very good,very good, several voices from the BJP benches exclaimed after Y S Jaganmohan Reddy took oath as a member in the Lok Sabha. As the newly-elected member from Kadapa,Andhra Pradesh,folded his hands and smiled in acknowledgment of this sudden show of tender feelings among his erstwhile critics,the lull in the treasury benches stood out in contrast.

ULFA team in Delhi for formal peace talks

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Guwahati: A seven-member delegation of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom ULFA,led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa,reached New Delhi on Thursday for formal peace talks with the Union government over the next few days.

The team will meet Home Minister P Chidambaram in a couple of days and discuss with him the modalities of carrying forward the peace talks. The team will also discuss with him the issue of deportation of its general secretary Anup Chetia,who has been in a Bangladesh jail since December 1997.